Identifying Epstein-Barr Virus Immunoevasins and their Protein-Protein Interactions through Database Mining

Background Viruses can utilise a variety of mechanisms to escape recognition and elimination by the host immune system. Here, we aim to exploit the UniProt database to identify Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) proteins with a function in immune system evasion (so-called ‘immunoevasins’) and to explore their associated biological processes and protein-protein interactions. Methods The UniProt database was used as the primary source for data mining. Keywords related to biological processes, including ‘immune system inhibition’ and ‘evasion’, were used. Only Swiss-Prot-reviewed proteins were included, and the retrieved data were further analysed by extracting information on annotation scores, gene ontologies and interactors. Further protein-protein interactions analysis was performed using the IntAct database. Results Our search in the UniProt database yielded 11 EBV proteins from 5 known EBV strains associated with host-immune evasion. The majority of the EBV proteins identified were involved in the inhibition of the host innate immune response. Others were related to the inhibition of adaptive host immune responses and the interferon signalling pathway. Protein-protein interactions analysis revealed four host proteins that have direct interaction with the EBV proteins. Conclusion Database mining has contributed to the rapid identification of curated EBV immunoevasins and identified the involved biological processes and relevant protein interactions.